In a Whole New Christmas Light
by LovePrism
Summary: Dan has moved on from his "childish" obsessions and grown up over the past year, and when all the Cahills get together to celebrate Christmas, Natalie sees him differently. What could happen? Rated T just in case. NOT A TYPICAL NATALIExDAN.
1. Dan's Shopping Adventure

**A/N: Hey! I know it's not Christmastime or not even close. But I just got inspired to do this out of nowhere, and I couldn't wait until December to put it up. **

**If you don't like Dan/Natalie, please read anyway. It's not your typical story for them. And I just thought I'd mention it's been three years since the hunt took place, the Kabras won, and Irina is dead.**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I do not own the 39 Clues or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 1**

**Dan's Shopping Adventure**

"Dan! Why aren't you out shopping?" Amy shouted at him as he sat on the couch watching "CSI: Miami."

"I thought we were going to do what we did before. You know, both put our names on the gifts you buy."

"Dan!" Amy shouted, "I told you last year that it would be the _last_ time, and I meant it!"

"Well, you didn't mean it the two years before," said Dan with his eyes glued to the TV.

Amy was getting more frustrated with him by the minute, "Well, I meant it last year! Now get your lazy butt off the couch and to the mall!"

"Can't it wait until my show's over?"

"Daniel Cahill, you go to the mall _now_! Or would you like to explain to the Holts why you didn't get them anything?"

That got Dan's attention. He jumped off the couch, grabbed his wallet and phone, slipped on his boots and jacket and was out the door. Amy smiled and sat on the couch and watched the rest of Dan's favorite show.

Dan was having an anxiety attack. The mall was packed full of people and he didn't know where to start looking for presents. He spent 5 minutes calming himself down before going into the closest story to him. It was full of glass and porcelain bowls, plates, glasses, and vases. Just a year ago, Amy wouldn't have let him go within 20 feet of the entrance. He looked around and found a bowl that had things written in Korean on it. He wasn't sure if Alistair would like it, so he called Amy.

"What, Dan?" Amy answered.

"I don't know if Alistair would like this bowl or not."

"Well, what does it look like?"

"It's white with red Korean on it."

"Dan…" Amy started.

"What, Amy?"

"I got him that bowl already! Don't you remember me showing it to you?"

"When did you show me?"

"Last Monday."

"Oh! That's why I don't remember. 'CSI: Miami' was on."

"Get him the matching plate."

"Sold out."

"Matching cup."

"Sold out."

"Matching vase."

"Sold out."

"Well, this isn't my fault, Dan. If you had gone when I asked you to, this would not have happened."

"Thanks, Ames." Dan hung up. He looked around and found a small glass dragon. He decided to get it for Alistair because it was like the Ekaterina branch symbol.

Then he moved on to the next store, an athletic equipment story. He looked around a while before finding something for the Holts. He didn't know if Amy had already gotten it for them, so he decided to call her.

"What, Dan?" She already sounded frustrated, and Dan hadn't said a word.

"I wanted to know what you got for the Holts."

"The parents or the kids?"

"Both."

"Alright, I got the kids some indestructible soccer nets and the parents yoga and Jillian Michaels DVDs."

"Okay perfect! You didn't get what I'm getting for them. Bye!"

"But wha-" Dan hung up and walked to the checkout counter with the set of indestructible soccer balls and the high-strength (purple) yoga mats. He left the athletic store and went on to the next one, which was a watch store. He suddenly got a brilliant idea, but he wasn't sure Amy would approve, so he called her. Again.

"Dan, how many times are you going to keep calling?" Amy asked, already sounding angrier than before.

"Ok, sorry, but I just got a brilliant plan! Could I just get everyone watches?"

"No, Dan! They don't exactly think that we're-oh never mind. You are only allowed to get 4 watches."

"But Am-" Dan whined as Amy hung up on him.

Dan thought about he still had to buy gifts for, and he decided to get watches for Ned, Ted, and Ian. He didn't buy a fourth watch just yet, in case he couldn't find a gift for someone else. He ended up buying Ned and Ted the same plain watch but in different colors. For Ian he got some fancy-looking pocket watch.

Dan left the watch store, and on his way to the next store in the mall, he saw a coin on the ground and decided to pick it up. It was an ordinary gold dollar, except everything on it was backward. Instead of going to the next store, he walked halfway across the mall to the coin collector's shop. He showed it to the man who stared at it for 20 minutes just so he could tell Dan it was a rare collector's item worth a lot. Knowing he or Amy would end up losing it, he decided to use it as his gift for Mr. and Mrs. Kabra. He bought a little fancy box for it and put it with the other gifts.

He walked into the store next to the one with the coins and saw it was filled with hundreds of pairs of sunglasses. He didn't know which ones Jonah would like best so he, of course, called Amy.

"Dan! What do you need now?"

"Okay, so I'm in this sunglasses place and I was going to get a pair for Jonah, but I don't know which."

"And you expect _me_ to know?"

"Well, you know everything else."

Amy was quiet a minute before replying, "Get a black pair that are plastic and thin."

"Okay thanks, Amy." Dan spent the next 10 minutes going from rack to rack trying to find a pair of sunglasses that fit Amy's description. When he finally found them, he checked out and headed to the next store.

Dan wasn't really sure what the main focus of the store was, but he found a really nice pen that he got for Mr. McIntyre. On his way to the next store, he saw some drawing you could enter to win tickets to some boring concert. Dan decided to enter so if he won, he would have a present for Jonah's parents that he wouldn't have to pay for. He wrote his name down on the sheet of paper, folded it in half, and stuck it in the box. Since it was right outside his next store, he went shopping while he waited.

The store was Victoria's Secret/PINK. He decided to buy stuff for Amy and Sinead. He, obviously, didn't know what to buy them, so he called Amy.

"Daniel Arthur Cahill! If you call me again I swear I will take everything you own down to Goodwill!" She screamed through the phone.

Dan didn't reply for a while. He knew she wasn't joking when she threatened to get rid of his stuff. Amy had done it in the past. "Okay I won't, but I need to ask you a question…What kind of gifts do girls like from Victoria's Secret and PINK?"

"Really, Dan? Fine: lip gloss, clothes (if you know their sizes), perfume, and lotion."

"Okay thanks bye!" Dan rushed as he hung up on her.

He figured Sinead probably wore the same size shirt as his sister, so he got them both T-shirts. Then he walked over to the lip gloss and got 6-three for each of them. He checked out and went outside just as the winner was being drawn.

"And the winner is…Dan Cahill!"

Dan ran over and got the tickets. He had gifts for everyone, so he went home.

"…And then I have my failed home ec project for Saladin and my failed ceramic statue thing from art to give to Nellie. And I gave April that necklace that I bought last year for Sydney before she broke up with me." Dan said proudly. He had just finished explaining to Amy what he had gotten for everyone (except her).

"You didn't tell April how you had gotten the necklace for your other girlfriend, right?"

"Okay, Amy," Dan started, "I may be stupid, but I'm not _that_ stupid."

Amy was quiet for a minute as she looked at all of Dan's presents. "Hey, Mr. I'm-Not-That-Stupid, you forgot someone."

"What?" Dan asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"You forgot to buy a gift for someone."

"Who?"

**A/N: That was pretty long, and I don't know if the other chapters will be as long, but I'll try to make them decently long. I forgot to mention before, but Nellie is out of town for a week visiting her parents, and the rest I'll get to later when I post the next chapter. **

**Please review! They make me want to write more. Thanks!**


	2. Fun with Poetry

_Amy was quiet for a minute as she looked at all of Dan's presents. "Hey, Mr. I'm-Not-That-Stupid, you forgot someone."_

"_What?" Dan asked with a puzzled look on his face._

"_You forgot to buy a gift for someone."_

"_Who?"_

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Fun with Poetry**

"Here's a hint: she thinks she's queen of the world."  
Dan gasped, "Natalie! Oh, no. She's going to kill me in my sleep! I go to sleep on Christmas and never wake up. Amy, I'm too young to die!"

"Dan, chill. You're not going to die. Just figure something out for Natalie."

"Amy, I am officially a genius! Okay, so when you said I could get watches for four people, I only got them for Ned, Ted, and Ian, so I could just go get one for Natalie!"

"Dan, you're forgetting that the queen of the world isn't going to want to get the same thing as her brother."

"You wanna help me start planning my funeral now?"

"You're overreacting. I am pretty sure that even a _Cobra_ wouldn't kill someone on Christmas."

"She will still not be happy. I don't have any time to go get her a gift, and I don't have any money either. What do I do?"

"I don't know. Mayb-"

"Goodbye, cruel world…"

"Dan, you're turning into the old ninja Dan again."

"Sorry."

"And you interrupted me. I was saying something after the 'I don't know' part."

"Well, go ahead and say it."

"I was thinking maybe you could write Natalie a song or poem."

"What? Oh, I get it: An Ode to the One who Attempts to Murder Me."

"Dan-"

He cut her off and continued in a British accent, "O fair Natalie Kabra, how I love thy cold dart gun, how I love the feel of the poison coursing through my veins."

"Really, I meant-"

"Thy poisons are uncomparable to any other, save for thy mother."

"Are you going to stop anytime s-"

"Thy plots for murder are genius and thou will never be caught by the law."

"I give up!" Amy shouted.

"Okay, I'm done now," Dan said calmly.

"Dan, I'm serious. When you actually put in effort and try, you write really good poetry. Seeing as you have no other options, I suggest you write a poem and do it well unless you want me to take you home in a body bag."

"Fine. I'll be in my room, trying to think about something good about Natalie."

Dan sat at his desk, scribbling away at the piece of paper. _Yes! I'm done!_ He thought as he grabbed up the paper and sprinted to Amy's room to have her approval of what he had written. "Okay, read it and tell me what you think!"

She grabbed the paper and read what it said.

_Natalie Kabra_

_Plots murders extremely well_

_Lucian agent_

"Dan, this is…"

"I have a backup idea for the second line if you think it sounds too…macabre. Here's how it goes: Never wears same outfit twice. Actually yeah, that is better. Let me change it."

"Dan, I meant an actual poem, not a simple little haiku. And it does seem to insult her, even with your 'less macabre' line."

"Fine. Back to the drawing board," he grabbed the paper and walked back to his room, crumpling it and slam dunking it into his tiny trash can, providing sports commentary while he did.

"Amy! I've got another poem for you to read!" Dan sang as he walked to her room. "Here, read it. I think it is definitely an improvement from last time."

Amy sighed, and looked at Dan before turning her eyes to his paper.

_N-nice_

_A- amazing _

_T-terrific_

_A-awesome_

_L-loving_

_I-intelligent_

_E-energetic_

_K-kind_

_A- always kind_

_B-brilliant_

_R-radiant_

_A-always always kind_

"Dan, you still aren't getting it, are you?"

"Getting what?"

"That there should be something poetic about it, not just random words on paper."

"Okay."

"The words should describe Natalie. These…don't really, and you used 'always kind' twice."

"It's not my fault she has a lot of 'A's in her name!"

"Just get more creative, Dan. Think happy thoughts of Natalie."

"Well, thanks for giving me so much to work with," he said as he slumped back to his room, threw the poem away, and plopped back down at his desk. "Ugh, why couldn't I have forgotten Nellie? Or Saladin? Yeah, Saladin would be easy. I'd just buy him extra red herring after Christmas. He wouldn't even care if I didn't get him anything…" Dan Cahill's fourteen-year-old brain just got struck with a brilliant idea, which, unfortunately, he did not think through before running into Amy's room to ask her about it.

"Oh, no, Dan. What is it now?"

"I was thinking that since Saladin's just a cat, he wouldn't mind if I gave his present to Natalie."

"Think about that for a couple seconds, Dan. You'll see what's wrong with your plan."

He stood there, confused by what she had said, and then realized what she meant; his failed home ec project was definitely _not_ Kabra-worthy. "Never mind," he mumbled as he trudged back to his room. Why was this whole Natalie thing turning his brain back to the immature mush it had been last year? He laughed to himself, _Immature mush, that sounds like something Natalie would call me…or eat if you say it with a French accent…_then he stopped himself and realized this is just the immature mush that she was turning him into. He shook himself out of it, lay down on his bed, and fell asleep.

* * *

"_Good evening, Mr. Cahill," Dan was greeted by a slender young woman with coffee skin wearing a deep red silk evening gown that was snug on her body in just the right places. _

"_Evening, Miss Kabra."_

"_Welcome to the Cahill Gala." Dan looked around and saw all the members of his family gathered in an enormously grand ballroom. The girls were all wearing gowns, and the boys were wearing suits. Dan looked down to see himself wearing one as well. Everyone was talking, mingling, and sipping wine out of crystal glasses. This sort of event would have disturbed Old Dan, but New Dan felt that he fit in perfectly._

_He walked over to where Reagan, in her lavender dress, was talking to a Cahill he didn't know about a recent version of the _Nutcracker _done by their ballet company. "I do wish that they would have had more in the budget for costumes, though, and—oh, hello, Daniel."_

_Even though he would have normally just said "hey" back, he said, "Hello, Miss Holt, and who might your companion be?"_

"_I'm Emmeline Lovington, Janus. Pleasure to meet you."_

"_Oh, the pleasure is all mine. Would either of you happened to have seen my sister, Amy Cahill pass by here?"_

"_No, I'm afraid I have not."_

"_Nor have I."_

"_Earlier I believe I saw her talking to Mr. Kabra, over there, so you may wish to ask him," added Emmeline._

"_Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your evening, ladies," as he walked off, he heard them continuing their discussion about ballet. Dan made his way across the ballroom, brushing past the skirts of dresses, careful not to step on any of them, and found himself before Ian Kabra who had just kissed a girl goodbye on the hand and was walking away. "Ian, have you seen Amy?"_

"_Have I seen Amy? Why of course, Daniel. She looks splendid this evening in that jade green dress that matches her eyes."_

"_I meant, have you seen where she is?"_

"_Oh, how silly of me. No, I have not seen her recently. A while ago we were standing here, talking, until she saw someone across the ballroom and went to talk to her instead."_

"_Thank you, Ian. I apologize for leaving so soon, but I must find her."_

"_I understand. I hope you find her before long."_

_Dan made his way over to where he spotted Amy almost immediately, her green dress standing out surrounded by black suits. He made his way through all of her admirers, excusing himself, but when he reached her, she said, "Daniel, what are you doing! You should be up in your room finishing that poem!"_

"_What is this about a poem?" asked one of the young men around her._

"_Daniel is to write a poem for his beloved, but he has yet to begin it!"_

"_I would have begun it, if I knew something about poetry!"_

"_You should go speak to them, over there," said the same young man as before. "They are experts on poetry and should be able to help you."_

"_Thank you," Dan walked off toward the group of elderly men gathered around a table that had been gestured to. "Excuse me, sirs, but I am to write a poem for my beloved, yet I know nothing of poetry."_

_The men all laughed, not in a cruel, condescending way, but as though remembering the time when they were in the same situation as he was. "Let's start simple, what is poetry?"_

"_I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that."_

"_If you're afraid of getting the answer wrong, don't be. We all have our own interpretations," he replied. "For example, I believe that poetry is what is lost in translation, or a way of taking life by the throat."_

"_And I believe," began another man, "Poetry is the universal language which the heart holds with nature and itself. He who has a contempt for poetry, cannot have much respect for himself, or for anything else, but that is just my personal opinion."_

"_Poetry must be as new as foam and as old as the rock," said a third._

"_Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance," joined yet another._

"_It is the record of the best and happiest moments of the best and happiest minds," said another among them._

"_So you see," said the first, "there is an endless string of answers, even within just you."_

"_I'm starting to understand now," Dan replied, "but I still am unaware of how to write it."_

"_A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness. It finds the thought and the thought finds the words. That will help you find a place to begin writing."_

"_I believe that the essence of poetry is will and passion. Consider that as you write," said the second who had replied before._

"_Do not worry about how long you make your poem, for it does not need that a poem should be long. Every word was once a poem. Every new relationship is a new word," said the third from before._

"_Though I am not too proud to admit it, I have written some poetry that I don't understand myself, so make sure you know what you are writing down," replied the fourth._

_Then others who had not spoken out before began sharing their opinions with Dan, "A poem records emotions and moods that lie beyond normal language, that can only be patched together and hinted at metaphorically."_

"_Good poetry seems too simple and natural a thing that when we meet it we wonder that all men are not always poets. Poetry is nothing but healthy speech."_

"_A good poet's made as well as born."_

"_Daniel, keep all of this in mind as you write your poem, and I am sure your Natalie will love it."_

* * *

Dan woke with a start. What was that weird dream about? And was Natalie his…_beloved_? Yet as bad as it all seemed, Dan had just been struck with a muse, and he immediately scrambled to his desk, but before he could begin to write, he was interrupted by a knock on his door. "Hey, Dan, I know you were having some troubles with the whole poetry thing, so I found a couple quotes on the internet for you. The first one definitely screams Natalie, and the rest are pretty good."

Dan grabbed and scanned the paper after the first quote, which read "When power leads man towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses." All the other quotes on there were things that those men had said in his dream. How did that happen?

"Oh, and one other thing, Dan, Ian called," he could hear the disgust in her voice as she said his name, "and this year the theme is very formal for Christmas, so bring that suit you have in the back of your closet. It should fit; you wore it just a couple weeks ago."

As Dan sat there in shock, he thought, _Cool, so now I'm a psychic._

* * *

**A/N: Hello! Sorry for this horrifically long time between updates (what is it like a year now?) I was **_**finally**_ **convinced to update by the review from Iwouldloginbutnah because it stated, quite blatantly, that I had 33 reviews and I realized that if there were 33 people out there who took the time to tell me they wanted me to update it, I probably should. I'll try to update as soon as possible, but I have summer homework (because of my stupid school that's convinced it's a college prep school). So for that I have to read one book and answer like 100 questions on it **_**and**_** give an analysis of each character and read another book and prepare an oral report giving an analysis of the book. However, it's not due until school starts halfway through August, but I'm not procrastinating!**

**Anyways, to summarize that last paragraph: I updated. I will try to update soon.**


	3. Maybe Natalie's on Drugs

**A/N: Hey I forgot to mention on the last chapter that those are all legit quotes by famous poets, so I just thought I'd give some credit to Carl Sandburg, Robert Frost, William Hazlitt, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Diane Ackerman, Henry David Thoreau, and Ben Johnson. Yes, I finally updated, and hopefully they'll be coming more often now that we're in the Christmas spirit! For now, enjoy Chapter 3: Maybe Natalie's on Drugs**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Maybe Natalie's on Drugs**

* * *

Amy walked out of the room, and Dan began writing Natalie's poem. He stayed locked in his room for hours, not even coming out to eat dinner with his sister, which got her concerned. "Dan, this isn't normal. Eat something."

"I can't eat!" he shouted through his door. "I'm not done with Natalie's poem, and if I don't write it now, I won't be able to remember all the stuff I'm going to write."

"Okay, I'll leave a plate with chicken and corn in the fridge for you, in case you want to eat later."

"Go away, Amy! I need to focus!"

"Wow. That's a first. Good luck, Dan."

Dan stayed in his room until four in the morning when he finally finished his poem for Natalie. Then he came out, ate his dinner, and went back to bed.

The next morning, he was awoken by Amy pounding on his door and shouting at him to get up, "Dan! You have to get up and pack! We're leaving tonight!"

He rolled out of bed and landed on the floor. It was nine o' clock; he had gotten less than five hours of sleep. Amy didn't hear him getting up, so she opened his door, and threw a suitcase in. She didn't look where she was throwing, so she happened to hit Dan in the chest and knock him back onto the floor. "Amy!" he groaned.

"I'm sorry, Dan! I didn't know you were out of bed."

He just groaned again in reply, lay down, and fell asleep with the suitcase on top of him. Amy didn't try to wake him up again, but instead she walked to his desk and looked at the poem he had written. She smiled and silently nodded her approval. She placed the paper back on his desk and walked to her room to finish her packing.

"You know, it's kind of nice to fly somewhere and get picked up in a car and not be freaking out that you're gonna end up getting killed," Dan said to Amy. However, she didn't respond. It was five in the morning, and they had just arrived in England and were being chauffeured to the Kabra mansion. Amy was exhausted, but Dan's sleep schedule was out of whack because of Natalie, so he was wide awake. He was bored and had been talking to himself because the chauffeur refused to say anything. He hadn't even asked to take their bags; he just grabbed them.

When they finally arrived, Amy had woken up and Dan was just the same as before. The chauffeur carried their bags up and inside as they got out of the car. They followed him up the stairs to their rooms, which connected to each other by a door. Once they saw where their rooms were, they changed and went downstairs to eat breakfast with the rest of the Cahills. Amy sat between Sinead and Alistair, and Dan sat next to Ted and Reagan. There were two empty seats across from Amy and Dan between them where Ian and Natalie would be sitting. Servants came out with food on platters, but the Kabra kids hadn't shown up yet.

"Sorry we're late. Natalie was having some…difficulties," Ian said as the two of them arrived and sat down.

"Ian," Natalie hissed with an annoyed look on her face.

The meal continued, as did the conversation. Amy had no stutter, and was talking animatedly to everyone around her. Except Ian. Every time they looked at each other, they shared a weird look that no one could figure out, except maybe them. Dan was having a conversation with Reagan about the Red Sox, when he noticed Natalie looking at him weird. It was different from her usual expression, which said "I want to shoot you with my dart gun so much right now," but he couldn't figure out what it meant. He ran his brain through all of the "girl language" he had figured out from Amy and April.

Hmm…no, it's not "How dare you forget my _!" or "What do you think you're doing?" It's not "I hate you!" or "Don't do that!" Dan just shrugged. It wasn't that big of a deal; he would figure it out later.

After breakfast, Dan decided to walk around the house and look at the Christmas decorations. They were amazing. The Kabras had gone over the top, but that's not very surprising considering how much money they have. Even though it was Christmas Eve, he knew Amy would be in the library, reading, so he decided to stay out of there until he was bored and had seen the decorations in most of the other places. Dan walked in and was beginning to navigate through the bookshelves covered in sparkling red and green garland. He looked around one corner and saw an open area with chairs and a couch or two to sit and read on. Before he could walk toward his sister, he noticed someone else was there with her—Ian. They were kind of just looking at each other awkwardly, sitting on opposite sides of the couch. Dan really did not want to see what this would happen, since it looked uncomfortable enough already, so he turned around and walked out of the library. He was turning a corner in the hallway when he almost ran into Natalie Kabra.

"Dan!"

"Hi, Natalie," he replied, confused by her enthusiastic greeting.

"I was just looking for you!" she said with a smile.

"And I was not looking for you," Dan said as he started to walk away.

"Dan, wait!" she said as she grabbed his arm.

"Your hands are really cold," Dan could feel it biting through his long sleeve shirt and sweat jacket, so he slid his arm out of her grasp and hoped she would also get the hint that he didn't want to have anything to do with her.

"Will you warm them for me then, Dan?" Natalie asked, looking up through her eyelashes innocently as she held her hands out in front of him.

"I, uh, have to go check on a present."

"That can wait, Dan," she said as she kept walking toward him with a weird smile on her face. Instinctively, he looked to make sure she didn't have a dart gun or poisoned fingernails.

"It's your present," he explained, hoping this would make her want to let him leave.

"Oh, okay then, Dan. Have fun! Hurry back!" she called as he sprinted down the hall and up the stairs to his room.

As soon as he got inside, he locked the door behind him and caught his breath. What was that? Natalie never called him "Dan," and why was she acting so…creepy? _Eh, maybe she just inhaled a little too much polish for her dart gun. Or maybe Natalie's on drugs. Oh well, it doesn't matter. I'm only stuck in this house with her for another, what, four days? I can handle that. _


End file.
